The Oregon tennis teams meet their toughest challenges for the season this weekend.
The women will travel to the Bay Area to take on a pair of top-10 schools. The Ducks (9-1 overall, 2-0 Pacific-10 Conference) face first-ranked Stanford today and No. 9 California on Saturday. It is the first time since October that Oregon will compete outdoors.
Despite losing their first dual match against fourth-ranked Washington last weekend, the women are slowly being recognized as one of the top teams in the country after their terrific start. For the second time in the history of the women’s tennis program, the Ducks moved into the top 25 and now sit at No. 24.
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said his squad is looking at these upcoming matches as another chance to showcase the team on a national level and hopefully pull off an upset.
“We feel like we got nothing to lose and are going to embrace this opportunity to grow as a team,” Schyllander said. “If we play hard, anything can happen.”
That growth process has already begun as the women currently have two players among the top-50 singles players in the country. Junior Daria Panova jumped up one spot to No. 7, while freshman Dominika Dieskova entered the rankings for the first time in her career at No. 46. Right now, Panova holds a 21-4 singles record and Dieskova has compiled a 12-6 singles record.
However, Stanford (9-0) boasts an all-star squad with a total of seven players rated among the top 75. The Cardinal is led by 24th-ranked senior Lauren Barnikow, who has a 16-4 record, and its own star freshman, No. 26 Theresa Logar, who is 17-2 on the season.
Stanford head coach Lele Forood said she is well aware of the up-and-coming Ducks and realizes her team will be tested.
“Oregon is certainly a very tough opponent and we are looking forward to the match,” Forood said.
Revenge will be on the minds of the Ducks after they were defeated by Stanford, 7-0, and California, 4-3, last season.

Back at home
The 60th-ranked Oregon men (6-1 overall) return home after two consecutive weeks on the road to compete against No. 8 Rice today at 4 p.m. and 18th-ranked Washington on Saturday at the Student Tennis Center.
Oregon head coach Chris Russell said playing at home will be key this season and believes it will help his team pull off some surprises against top-ranked visiting squads.
“I do feel like the guys have a belief that playing on our home courts that anything can happen.” Russell said. “We have to play well, there’s no doubt about it. We wouldn’t schedule them if we didn’t think we could beat them.” Rice assistant coach Shaheen Ladhani said he is expecting a tough matchup on the road.
“Oregon has a very good team and they are more than capable of causing big upsets,” Ladhani said. “We have our work cut out for us. It should be a great match.”